


Que Sera Sera

by dedicatedfollower467



Category: The Posterchildren - Kitty Burroughs
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Imprisonment, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, except under really sad and terrible circumstances, maks is only in at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 06:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15455007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dedicatedfollower467/pseuds/dedicatedfollower467
Summary: Ernest insists on visiting the Ward and seeing his mother again for the first time in more than a decade.June is there to put the pieces back together if he falls apart.





	Que Sera Sera

**Author's Note:**

> heeeyyyyy this fic has been sitting around on my computer since BASICALLY forever and also it just got mildly jossed by the most recent Patreon post, so heyyyy why not, right? I literally wrote this like three years ago and I've done nothing with it since then so might as well put it out there.

June could see Ernest steeling himself, the way he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and drew himself up to his full height. If she didn’t know it would detract from his commanding aura, she would have laid a hand on his arm in support. Asserting himself would always be difficult for him.

The poor clerk behind the desk stuttered their way through paperwork, facing down the full force of America’s Champion. June was surprised they could hold out as long as they had.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wright, but Ms. Goldstein isn’t allowed visitors under any circumstances.”

Ernest’s voice, when it came, was quiet, but as tough as he was.

“I want to see my mother.”

June stepped up behind him this time, letting her hand fall casually to the flaming tiger at her side. “If it’s his safety you’re concerned about, I think we can look after ourselves.”

Finally quailing, the clerk nodded. “I’ll buzz you in,” they whispered.

Still standing at his full height, Ernest strode through the doors. June was following on his heels, the tiger behind her. Maks had wanted to come, too, and June thought they ought to let him, but Ernest hadn’t even wanted June to come. If it was a choice between June and Maks to protect their Champ, they both knew they’d send June.

June knew the woman in the cell at the end of the row the instant she laid eyes on her. There was something in the set of her mouth, the lines around her eyes, that reminded her of Ernest at his most defeated. And of course, there were the glasses - the same style she’d imagined.

Gloria started when she saw Ernest, nearly dropping her cigarette. “John?” she said.

Ernest covered the distance from the end of the hallway to her cell door before she could say another thing. “No, Mom,” he said. “It’s me. Ernest.”

“Ernest.” Gloria touched the glass, and Ernest reached out in the same moment, eclipsing her hand with his own.

June lingered at the end of the hallway, not wanting to intrude on the moment. This was the first time Ernest and Gloria had seen each other in over a decade - Ernest didn’t even remember the last time. Right now, June’s job was to fade into the background. She wasn’t great at it, but she was better than Maks.

The conversation through the glass continued, too quiet for June to hear. Ernest had dropped to the floor, kneeling on one leg while he spoke. Down low like that, he almost looked like a child, sitting at his mother’s feet and begging for a story.

Judging from the tears running down his face, it wasn’t a happy story.

Suddenly Ernest was turning to look at June, smiling through his tears as he explained something to Gloria. “June,” he called out. “Come meet my mother.”

June smiled and walked down the hallway to him, her tiger following along and lashing its tail the whole way. Maks had told her to look after Ernest - she wasn’t going to dismiss her fiery friend until he was back safe at home.

“Mom, this is June Hovick,” Ernest said, gesturing up at her. “My girlfriend.”

June stood in front of Gloria and met her eyes. There was a hint of sadness in them, but mostly what June saw there was a deep-rooted anger, grown hard and cold through long years of festering inside. She nodded. From everything she had heard of the Femme Fatale, Gloria was, if not a kindred spirit, at least someone she could understand.

“A pleasure to meet you. Mrs. Wright doesn’t seem the thing to say, but Ms. Goldstein isn’t much better. May I call you Gloria?”

Gloria smiled - a bitter, tiny expression, like she’d forgotten how. “Of course, if I can call you June.”

“Oh, please do.”

Ernest was smiling, but June knew that smile. It was smile he’d given her when she made the first costume for him, when they’d gone out at as a team the first time. It was the smile that said he was about to break.

Maks had told her to protect their Champion. That meant protecting him from emotional damage, too.

“We’re really not supposed to be here, Gloria,” June said. “It’s probably best we get going. If we don’t wear out our welcome, we might be able to come again.”

Gloria nodded. “I understand.”

Ernest’s face fell, and he visibly struggled to hold back his tears. “Let me say goodbye?” he asked June.

“Of course.” June walked down the hall to give them a little privacy. But the time Ernest stood, wiping his tears on his sleeves, she could see guards making their way towards the door.

Slamming the door open, she took Ernest by the elbow and pulled him forward, letting the tiger bound ahead of her like a fiery shield. “Come  _ on _ , Ernest, honestly,” she said, blathering loudly as a distraction. “You always take so long to do  _ everything _ , it’s a wonder you’re ever on time for anything.”

She talked with her hands, making a commotion - people always saw the way she moved and babbled instead of paying any attention to what she was actually doing. They marched through the hallways and back out of the Ward unopposed. June didn’t even stop to thank the timid little clerk who’d let them in.

June didn’t let Ernest slow down until they were back at the Wrights’ house. As soon as they walked through the door, a familiar head of dark curls whipped up from his spot at the kitchen table.

“What happened?” Maks asked. “How’d it go?”

He stood and was at Ernest’s other side in an instant. Quietly, he said, “Ernest? Are you okay?”

June wasn’t even surprised when her giant puppy’s rickety smile crumbled into tears. She just shifted her arm to wrap around his waist as Maks threw his arms around Ernest’s neck and pulled him into a deep hug.

Ernest buried his face in Maks’ curls, shoulders shaking. “We’ve got to get her out,” he whispered. “She doesn’t deserve - she never deserved  _ that _ .”

June squeeze his waist. “Then we’ll get her out,” she vowed.


End file.
